


Expression

by TwelveUnitsShy



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: I don't think, M/M, Rare Pairings, Romance, an attempt at writing omnics, at least I haven't seen it before, let me know what you think, probably a bad attempt, yeah this rare pair is crazy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 10:26:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13121817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwelveUnitsShy/pseuds/TwelveUnitsShy
Summary: Zenyatta's in love.  It's just that simple.  So, why doesn't Genji know?





	Expression

**Author's Note:**

> This is another one of the randoms I've been working on that I finally finished. (Tbh, it's a few separate stories that I ended up cutting parts out of and putting together into this. I hope it didn't turn out too weird.)
> 
> I really wanna write omnics more. Zenyatta's been my favorite character since launch (actually since before launch). But I get the feeling that I'm not doing him much justice. Maybe I just need more practice.
> 
> I'm also experimenting around with a couple of things: 1) writing action scenes and 2) making small tweaks to my writing style (thanks to one of my readers). Hopefully this is a step in the right direction. Buuuuuuuut, if it's horrible, let me know.
> 
> ADDITIONAL NOTE: I like to imagine that since the game is not canon that it's actually a training program for the members of Overwatch. (Akin to the Xmen's Danger Room. Or something like the Holodeck in the Star Trek series.)

"Greetings, my sister," Zenyatta said as he hovered toward Orisa. "I thought that I might find you here."

Orisa stopped what she was doing and smile emojied at him. "Greetings."

Currently Orisa was in a field not far from headquarters picking flowers.

"What a lovely bouquet," Zenyatta said, motioning toward the flowers she'd already picked.

"Thank you. They are for my other," Orisa said happily.

"I am glad you mentioned that. You two have been in a relationship for a while and I was wondering if I could ask your advice."

"I would be happy to help if I am able."

Zenyatta lowered himself to the ground as if to meditate and Orisa slowly made herself comfortable on the grass.

"How may I be of assistance?" Orisa asked as she gently held her bouquet.

"I, too, have feelings for a human. Unfortunately, I doubt that he notices me outside of our usual interactions. I have complimented him and I have told him of my fondness toward him, yet I believe he only sees me as...," Zenyatta said quietly, stopping short of revealing too much. "...as a friend."

The younger omnic nodded. "I see. Well, Genji seems open-minded. Perhaps if you explain to him the depth of your feelings, he will understand."

Zenyatta was sure that he hadn't given any clues about who he was referring to. He wished he could hide the state of the indicators on his forehead. To anyone who understood what they meant, they were as plain as the emojis of Orisa's eyes.

"I do not mean to embarrass you, but I think everyone knows of your feelings toward Genji except Genji himself," Orisa said plainly. "Sadly, I am not sure how I can be of help in this."

"How did your relationship with your other begin?" Zenyatta asked.

Orisa's eyes displayed hearts for a moment—something Zenyatta was not aware was possible for her. "The first thing he ever said directly to me was, 'May I ride you into battle?' "

Zenyatta laughed whole-heartedly. "He said that?"

"Yes. And that was after hearing how serious a person he was. I had never laughed for so long," Orisa told him. She simulated a sigh. "We talked a lot after that and he would always stare at me when we talked. That was when I would experience these strange sensations. Almost like an overcurrent."

"I, too, have experienced such a sensation when I am with Genji," Zenyatta said quietly.

Orisa giggled. "How adorable." Then she simulated another sigh and looked down at the flowers she'd picked. "My other says that what attracted him to me most of all is how expressive I am. He tells me that he loves my eyes and my voice."

"How wonderful. Yours sounds like a relationship that was meant to be," Zenyatta said.

"And you will have the same once Genji understands the depth of your feelings. As a matter of fact, you two already have a strong bond and you will be able to share even more of yourselves with each other since Genji is partially machine," Orisa said. She frown emojied. "Sadly, there are aspects of each other that my other and I will never understand. But you and Genji have a chance to explore a great deal about each other on many different levels."

"I suppose that is true. Thank you for hearing me out, my sister," the older omnic said, turning toward their headquarters. "But it seems as though I have taken enough of your time. Your other has come looking for you."

Orisa did indeed possess a multitude of emojis as her eyes displayed what was obviously nervousness. "Excuse me," she said to her elder. She hopped to her feet and cantered past Zenyatta. "I was out picking these for you, Hanzo. It was supposed to be a surprise."

Zenyatta watched as Orisa offered the flowers to her other and was delighted to see a rare smile grace the archer's face as he accepted them.

\-----------------

Zenyatta was hovering past the training room when he heard a familiar voice. Either Genji was in there training or someone had added him to the program as an AI-controlled ally or opponent. Upon studying the score screen, Zenyatta discovered that Genji had pitted himself against not one, not two, but three Bastions.

One against three Bastions was suicide under normal conditions, but when those Bastions were defending the first point at Hanamura, it became even more impossible.

It was already a little over a minute into the round and strangely enough, Genji hadn't needed to respawn yet. Zenyatta quickly overrode the match parameters and joined on Genji's team. He could see his student's vitality outline through the wall near the front gate. The ninja was in the middle of deflecting one of the Bastions' bullets, but he was also nearing critical health.

The omnic monk knew he wasn't the most mobile, so he wouldn't stand a chance if one of the Bastions spotted him before he could take it down. As Zenyatta entered the doors and glided to the shelter next to the gate, he glimpsed Genji dash onto the ledge near the stairs, taking out the first Bastion unit with his swift strike. As the ninja was about to dart around the corner to grab the health pack inside the upper level of the shelter, Zenyatta dispatched his orb of harmony.

Genji stopped cold in his tracks. "Master?" he said over the team chat. "What are you doing here?"

"I will explain later, my pupil. The Bastion you eliminated will soon respawn. And I can hear another Bastion in reconnaissance mode drawing near," Zenyatta told him in his usual calm voice. Thankfully Genji was still within his field of view, so his orb of harmony was still with his student.

"Yes. I saw one of the Bastions posted on the inside," Genji said before he darted around the corner.

"Be cautious, my student," Zenyatta advised.

As the Bastion's footfalls grew louder, the omnic monk began charging up a volley of orbs. It must have seen him take refuge inside the shelter. Once the Bastion rounded the corner, Zenyatta released all five orbs of destruction, all five headshots, quickly eliminating the second defender.

The monk hovered through the mechanical debris, hurrying toward the point as quickly as his propulsion would allow. His orb of harmony had returned to him a few seconds ago and he didn't feel comfortable that Genji was without it.

From the position of Genji's vitality outline, it looked as though the ninja was using the bell as cover. This provided Zenyatta with another important piece of information. Considering the side of the bell Genji was using as cover, he knew exactly the corner in which the Bastion was stationed.

"I will discord the Bastion as I come in and then join you behind the bell," Zenyatta said quietly over the team chat.

Before Genji could respond, the omnic monk did just as he said, only he didn't make it behind the bell before the Bastion's barrage of bullets tore straight through his shielding. His student had set the AI's difficulty higher than he thought. The monk should have paid attention to that when he was overriding the match parameters.

"Master!" Without a moment's hesitation, Genji leapt over the bell, deflecting the Bastion's attacks back at it. And even though it took a while, the Bastion unit transformed from turret mode back to recon mode as it self-repaired, simultaneously seeking cover. And a seemingly endless flurry of shurikens followed.

Zenyatta took that moment to dispatch his orb of harmony to his student once again, though he'd barely taken any damage, and then focused on hurling orbs of destruction at the retreating Bastion. It was using the doorways to its advantage, however, and was able to escape before being eliminated.

"It seems the last of the defenders is going to regroup with the others. The first point is ours," Zenyatta commented as his orb of discord returned to him. "An impressive display, my pupil."

"Are you alright, Master?"

The omnic gave a nod. "My shields have regenerated and I did not lose any of my base health."

The capture indicator on their HUD took its time filling and the monk was surprised that the group of Bastions didn't return in force to try to reclaim the objective. Zenyatta focused on the entrance in case the enemy did decide to return.

Genji cancelled the match and disabled the training room before they even finished capturing the first point. "It was reckless of me to continue once I saw that you were here. You could have been injured."

The omnic detected sadness in his student's voice. "There was no need to end the match prematurely. It would have been interesting to devise a strategy for taking the second point."

Genji shook his head. "I don't want to be responsible for putting you in that kind of danger. I could never forgive myself if something were to happen to you."

Zenyatta followed Genji out of the training room and down the hall. "And yet you subjected yourself to such danger alone."

"I only intended to test my limits, Master," the ninja said. He looked Zenyatta over before asking. "What were you doing in there?"

"I wanted to speak with you, but your match piqued my curiosity. I suppose I was 'sidetracked'."

"Talk to me? About what?" Genji asked.

Zenyatta looked around the hall and even though it was empty at the moment, he didn't want there to be a chance that someone would come along and interrupt them. "I would prefer to speak to you privately."

"Would you like to come to my quarters?"

The omnic monk nodded.

\-----------------

"Genji, I tell you each day how impressed I am with your skill and your development, do I not?" Zenyatta began.

Genji nodded. "And I am grateful for your compliments, Master, but those things are only a reflection of your teaching."

"That is not true, my pupil. I have taught a few others in my time, yet you are the most talented of them all. You are quick to learn and I admire...," Zenyatta said, stopping short. He knew the indicators on his forehead were flickering madly and he could see that Genji was looking at them. "I admire your dedication. You are my favorite student."

The ninja turned away. "Thank you, Master. But I don't deserve such praise."

"Of course you do. You deserve that and so much more. After all, I am quite fond of you," Zenyatta said.

When he received no response from Genji, the indicators on Zenyatta's forehead dimmed and then shut off. He'd told Genji the same thing many times before and his student never really acknowledged the statement.

Then the omnic thought back to what Orisa had said. That perhaps Genji didn't understand the DEPTH of his feelings. Not that he didn't understand those feelings, but perhaps he didn't understand just how deeply those feelings went.

"Genji." It was rare that he actually called his student by name, so the startled look on Genji's face when he turned to face him again was understandable.

"Yes?"

Zenyatta knew his indicators were flashing once again. "I am afraid that I have inadequately expressed exactly how I feel." He hovered closer to Genji and slowly removed the ninja's face plate so he could look upon his student with no barriers between them.

"Master?" Genji gasped quietly, half surprised and half hopeful.

"I am truly fond of you. I am indeed impressed by you. And I am proud to call you my student. However...," Zenyatta began.

"Please, don't say any more, Master," Genji sighed. He moved closer to Zenyatta and let one of his fingers gently trace the cluster of indicators on his teacher's forehead. "Just let me have this moment before you say anything more."

Zenyatta hadn't received a full maintenance inspection in a while, so it was possible that his somatic sensors were going haywire. There was that overcurrent sensation that usually came about when he was with Genji, only this time it was stronger. Obviously it was simply a sensation because there was no evidence of blown fuses or short circuits. It was so rare that he was touched that he wasn't even sure if his positronic brain was processing it correctly.

His indicators were flashing madly and completely out of sync—the human equivalent of arousal, Zenyatta supposed. And his student was staring at them, seemingly mesmerized.

Zenyatta was about to speak when Genji stopped him.

"Master, when you say such things about me and when you say them so frequently, I can't help thinking that maybe...maybe there's a chance," Genji murmured, still staring at the flashing lights on the omnic's forehead.

Ah. Of course. It was so obvious now. Genji had been brushing off his comments for fear that he was reading more into them than he should have been. It wasn't because Genji simply saw him as a teacher. It was because he was afraid that his teacher could only see him as a student.

Zenyatta was having trouble concentrating on keeping himself afloat, so he slowly unfolded his legs and let them prop him up for a while. He stood only slightly taller than Genji, but somehow, standing on the ground made him feel closer to his student. He took Genji's hands in his and held them to his chest. "Dear Genji. I say such things about you frequently not only because they are what I believe, but because I am trying to convey my feelings to you."

The monk watched as his student's eyes grew wide with wonder.

"I cherish you above all things," Zenyatta went on.

"Master...." Genji said, gently squeezing the omnic's hands.

Had he actually done it? Had he finally expressed to Genji what he'd hoped he was expressing all along? Had he finally communicated the depth of his feelings?

Zenyatta watched as Genji breathed a heavy sigh and smiled at him, sending an unexplainable warmth throughout the omnic's entire frame.

"I cherish you above all things as well, Master."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. That's it. I tried. Please don't be too hard on me. :'(


End file.
